Whale mothers and babies use “whispers” to communicate and touching to initiate nursing
A recent study looking at the behaviour of humpback whales suggests that mothers and calves communicate using “whispers” in order to avoid detection and nursing is initiated using mechanical cues.
The research, published in the journal Functional Ecology focused on nursing behaviour and used trackers in order to identify communications between mothers and calves.
By looking at the patterns, the scientists reached the conclusion that while mothers and babies used very weak tonal and grunting sounds to communicate while actively diving, when it came to suckling, the calves usually used mechanical cues like touching his mother with his head.
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Mothers and babies communicate through whispers is a tactic employed in order to avoid detection by predators or other male whales that could disrupt the caring process. And the same reasons, biologists say, could be behind mother and babies resorting to touching cues when it comes to suckling.
“Such inconspicuous behaviour likely reduces the risk of exposure to eavesdropping predators and male humpback whale escorts that may disrupt the high proportion of time spent nursing and resting, and hence ultimately compromise calf fitness,” the study finds.
But this this communication, essential for the health of the newborn calves is threatened by noise pollution, the research also points out, and it can lead to calves being separated from their mothers.
“The small active space of the weak calls between mother and calf is very sensitive to increases in ambient noise from human encroachment thereby increasing the risk of mother–calf separation,” the scientific study finds.
Humpback whales are one of the most popular species of whales thanks to their surface behaviour which makes them popular among whale watchers but also due to their complex communication which features songs lasting from 10 to 20 minutes.
The species was once on the brink of extinction and even today its numbers are impacted by the whaling industry, fishing gear, collisions with ships and noise pollution.
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